It's all about the money

One of the cartoons Biscuit likes focuses on early math skills. But I think they might show it in multiple countries because they don't talk about dollars or inches. They do everything in units. 

The talk of money and measurements has got Biscuit asking us questions. He asked me one day if I had enough dollars to pay for day care. Then he wanted to know if my debit card was money. I did get a little worried when I was supposed to be the pet doctor, and he brought one of his horses to see me. I told him how much it would cost and he said he wanted to hand me his card like the one I use at the store.

Back in February, Mama sent Biscuit a Valentine's Day card. She put $2 in it, and I told Biscuit he could trade his two dollars for two of the little cars he likes. He got his cars, then a couple of weeks later, he brought me the Valentine's Day card and asked if he could trade the card for another car.

"Um, no," I said. "That's not how it works."

Sometimes I wonder if Biscuit's brain works more like mine or Jeff's. My brain is churning most of the time. I have stream of consciousness thoughts flowing constantly. Sometimes it catches Jeff off guard, and I have to backtrack and trace my thought pattern for him. But Jeff, he can be sitting on the couch, and his head is a blank slate. I ask him what he's thinking about, and when he says, "Oh, nothing," he means it.

Sometimes Biscuit will be playing, and he'll look up and say the most random things, and you wonder where in the world that thought came from. Then other times, you can almost see the wheels turning, and you know he's studying on something. 

Then he'll come up with a question like, "Mom, when you give the woman the money for our stuff, where does the money go?" Try to explain the corporate structure of a store to a 3-year-old. It's quite a chore to simplify that kind of structure.

Lately, he's been noticing that sometimes I give money to a cashier, and she gives me money back. I had to explain why that happened. "Mom, you gave her money, and she gave it back to you."

"Well, the amount of money I gave her was more than she needed," I said. "So she gave me back some change."

Biscuit was very proud of himself and his new-found money knowledge, so when we got home, he was excited about telling Jeff what he had learned.

"Dad, when you give somebody money, and it's not the right amount, they give you a change," Biscuit said. "When you give them too much money, they give you a change."

Not "some" change, but "a" change.

I guess change is good.